more than a matinee
by startswithhope
Summary: Just in time for Oscar Sunday, here's an Oscar themed Modern AU one-shot for you. Perpetual loner Emma Swan goes to the movies for a solo Oscar movie marathon and meets a charming stranger. Rated T for mild language.


She was secretly happy to find herself completely alone as she entered the dimly lit theater. Not surprising if she really thought about it, since not that many people actually drag themselves out of bed on a Saturday for a 10am movie. Settling in to her seat in the middle of the middle row, she made herself comfortable in her oversized hoodie, which she admittedly had only worn so she could sneak in her own candy in the deep pockets. $5.00 for a bag of Twizzlers was highway robbery and they knew it. And since this was the first of three films she intended to watch today, she sure as hell wasn't about to spend any more money than she had to. Every year her best friends, David and Mary Margaret, host their Oscar Party and every year she always comes in last on correct answers on her ballot.

Seeing movies is something people do on dates or with friends on the weekend, two things that weren't a big part of her world. Most of the time being a loner worked out pretty great for her and she wasn't really looking to change that, but every once in a while she did wish she had someone to do stuff like this with. But, she decided that this year she was going to win that damn ballot game and if that meant going to the cinema alone for a movie marathon on a Saturday, well, that's what she was going to do.

She glanced at her phone to check the time, remembering to turn the ringer off just as the lights started to dim.

"Bloody, buggering hell!"

Nearly jumping out of her seat at the yell from the darkness, she searched the theater for the source of the rather loud curse that had just interrupted the quiet. As the screen came to life, the light shone on a guy at the end of her row, bent down, still muttering curses under his breath. Transfixed, she wondered what the hell had gotten in to this guy and was silently praying he wasn't going to talk through the whole movie. Totally lost in her inner monologue of how best to call him out on his behavior, she didn't notice that he was now standing and staring at her.

"Sorry lass for my rudeness just now. The lights went down just as I was stepping into the row here and I misjudged the location of the armrest."

Thanks to the jarringly bright light from the preview, she could tell that he was ridiculously good looking and that accent, well, she was suddenly not as upset at the prospect of him talking through the movie after all.

Realizing that she still hadn't said anything, she forced her eyes back to the screen before answering. "No worries, you just startled me. I didn't think anyone else was in here."

"Yeah, neither did I. I can't guarantee the cursing wouldn't have happened if I had known, though, as that hurt more than my pride would like to admit." She could see he was still rubbing his knee out of the corner of her eye.

"I'd say you should go get some ice for that, but you've already proven that you don't maneuver all that well in the dark." Realizing what she had said about two seconds too late, she braced herself for the comeback she surely deserved. Turning slightly to see his reaction, she caught his upturned eyebrow and lopsided grin as he turned to face her.

"Oh, I haven't had many complaints in that regard, lass."

Oh man, she was so glad that it was dark and the blush that was radiating all over her face was only known to her. Was she actually flirting with a stranger in a movie theater right now? She had to shut this down and shut it down fast.

"I'll have to take your word on that, I guess." With that, she made a pointed move to slink down further in her chair and turn her attention back to the screen. She pretended not to hear the deep chuckle from her right. She didn't care if he was by far the most beautiful man she had ever laid eyes on and all she wanted to do was run her hands through his dark hair and trace the perfection that was his jawline. Everything about him was making her body buzz with awareness, which signaled her internal walls to shut it down.

The opening credits of the movie were a pleasant distraction and she attempted to bring her focus back to the task at hand. This was the artsy film of the three on her agenda, having read that it was a "brilliant blend of Tim Burton quirkiness and bizarre sexuality of David Cronenberg", whatever the hell that meant. Judging by the fact that the opening scene involved a black and white image of a man wearing a pig mask sitting on a train track, she had a feeling that she was in for a long 2 hours. After the first 20 minutes, in which a line of dialogue had yet to be spoken, she couldn't resist glancing to her right to gauge her fellow movie-goer's reaction.

He had slouched down in his seat and was watching the screen with a furrowed brow. His left hand reached up to scratch behind his ear before coming back down to tap his long fingers on the armrest. Watching him unconsciously tap was far more entertaining than the movie and she found herself in a bit of a trance. When his fingers suddenly gripped the armrest she was jolted back to the present and turned to the screen to see what had caused that reaction.

"What the hell?" Well, the bizarre sexuality portion of the film had definitely arrived. This was taking bestiality to a whole new level.

"My thoughts exactly, love." Turning to her right, she found the stranger facing her, somewhat shielding his eyes from the screen with his hand. "I'm going to need something to erase that image from my brain."

She had to laugh at that, as it was exactly what she was thinking in that moment. "I don't think there's enough alcohol in the world."

"Too right, lass." He had yet to look back to the screen, probably too afraid of what he might see. He leaned a bit closer to her when he noticed that she was still looking at him. "Why the hell are we watching this?"

She hated to admit that hearing him say _we_ caused a slight shiver to slide down her spine. "I don't know why _you_ are, but I'm only here because it got nominated for an Oscar. I'm beginning to wonder if I read my ballot wrong at this point, though."

"Oh, no, it was definitely nominated. I read that it was supposed to be brilliant. Brilliantly disturbing if you ask me..."

"Do you think it's safe to look at the screen again?"

"I will if you will. On three. Ready?" She nodded. He smiled. "1….2….3."

They both turned back to the screen simultaneously, hoping for the best.

Their sighs were perfectly in sync, having been spared any more eye trauma, as the film had moved into a less jarring phase. Pig man was now lying in a field of poppies, thankfully alone.

A few minutes of silence passed, both on screen and in the cinema, before she saw him stand and move a few seats closer to her. She watched as he settled in, acting completely nonchalant about his rather bold move. She wasn't exactly complaining, but now the smell of his aftershave was filling her senses, making it even harder for her to pay attention to anything but him.

"So, lass, what do you say make this movie better on our own?" The smirk he was now giving her was quite ridiculous and she couldn't help but take the bait.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Have you ever seen Mystery Science Theater 3000?"

"Oh my god, of course I have. I was obsessed and still watch old episodes on YouTube."

He raised his eyebrow in question, nudging his head towards the screen and then back towards her. "Well, shall we?

Could she really do this? Let her guard down completely and make an ass out of herself with this beautiful stranger? Fuck it.

"Let's do it." His look of glee was unmistakable and completely adorable. Figuring it was time to actually introduce herself to her new scene partner, she reached her hand towards him. "I'm Emma by the way."

"Emma. Lovely to meet you." He grasped her hand and brought it up to brush her knuckles lightly with his lips. "Killian Jones at your service."

Holy hell. The way he was looking at her over their joined hands combined with the feel of his lips was jarring something to life inside of her. The pull low in her belly was something she hadn't felt in a long time and she instinctively leaned a bit closer to him. He lowered their hands and let go, giving her a sly smile as she placed her hand on the armrest between them.

"So, Emma, you ready to have some fun?"

Emma's brain had turned to a much different idea of fun at this point and she had to break eye contact with him before replying, afraid that her mouth might say what her mind was thinking right now. She peered back at the screen, noting that pig man was minus the pig mask now, but was back on the train track.

"Yeah, seems like the only option for making this enjoyable."

It took them a few minutes to find their groove, but before long they were making up new dialogue and commenting on the ridiculous images on the screen like old pros. Killian's accent seemed to make everything he said even funnier, especially when he began using an overexaggerated pirate voice, complete with arrs and mateys. The usher made his rounds at one point, causing them both to sink down in their seats and attempt to stifle their laughter until he exited the back of the theater again. By the time the credits began to roll, Emma was doubled over, clasping her stomach in laughter as Killian attempted to read the cast and crew's names in pig latin. She couldn't remember the last time she had had this much fun, especially with someone she had just met. This was so unlike her, but she was reveling in it. Killian finally gave up, collapsing back into his seat and pretending to wipe his brow in exhaustion. His deep laugh joined hers as he looked over at her, his smile lighting her up from the inside.

"Love, that was by far the most enjoyable time I've ever had at the cinema."

"Me too, Killian. If you hadn't of been here, I would have probably left after the first 25 minutes."

"Aye, me too. I'm happy to have had your company as well. We make a pretty good team." The lights came on at that, both of them suddenly realizing that the credits were now over and the usher was already on his way in with his broom.

Emma stood up abruptly, suddenly feeling shy and unsure of what to say next. She saw Killian stand and turn towards her, reaching behind his ear and looking a bit nervous himself.

"So, I guess we should go, lass?"

"Uh…yeah." Emma stepped into the aisle and Killian followed, sneaking past her as they got to the door so he could open it for her.

"After you, milady." He gave her a slight bow and she laughed before exiting the theater ahead of him.

She began to dig in her pockets to find her next ticket stub, unsure of how much time she had before the second film of the day. Seeing that she only had 10 minutes to spare, she turned to Killian to say goodbye and found him standing much closer to her than she expected him to be. Her shoulder brushed his chest as she turned and he looked up at her, a bit sheepishly.

"Sorry lass, I was snooping at your ticket there. Are you seeing another movie today?"

Emma suddenly felt like a complete loser, having nothing better to do than spend all day at the movies, _by herself_.

"Uh…yeah. I needed to catch up on the Oscar nominated films before my friend's Oscars Party and, well, I figured I'd just knock a few out at once."

"Ah, not wanting to lose the ballot contest, I see?"

"How did you know?"

"Lucky guess." He was smiling at her again, his eyes sparkling with something she couldn't quite put her finger on. She smiled back, wondering where he had come from and how she could find a way to keep him and his smile around a bit longer.

"I refuse to be last…_again_. My best friend and her fiancée see everything and always win!"

Killian chuckled, and she saw him divert his eyes away briefly, his converse clad foot shuffling along the carpet between them.

"Well, I don't really have anywhere to be, so if you wouldn't be averse to my company for a while longer, would you mind if I joined you for your movie marathon, love?"

Emma's heart began to race as she looked over at him, definitely shocked to hear that someone like Killian didn't have anywhere better to be on a Saturday than here with her. He was looking at her with a hopeful smile, patiently waiting for her response.

"If you really want to, that would be nice."

"Brilliant, love. Let me go get myself a ticket and I'll meet you inside. Did you want anything from the concession stand? I might get some popcorn or something."

"A water would be great." She dug into her pocket to grab her wallet, but Killian reached out to her arm to still her.

"It's on me, love. See you in a few minutes." He gave her a wink and moved swiftly back to the entrance as she stood there, feet cemented to the floor, watching him as he disappeared around the corner. She stayed there for probably a full minute, just reeling from the complete turnaround her day had taken, finding herself on what was beginning to feel like a date with a charming, handsome stranger.

Not wanting to be caught in the same spot he had left her, she found the new theater and settled into a row near the back. There were a lot of people already seated, giving her hope that this movie would be better than the last.

"Excuse me, miss, is this seat available?"

She looked up to see an older woman standing in the aisle, pointing to the seat next to her.

"Sorry, it's taken." As the woman moved to find a new seat, Emma settled in and smiled to herself. Killian appeared then, handing her a bottle of water as he sat in the seat next to her. Their arms brushed as he set the popcorn on his knee, causing sparks to run straight down her arm. His eyes met hers as the lights began to dim and they exchanged shy smiles, before turning back to the screen to watch the previews.

_Yes, definitely taken._

* * *

A/N – If you aren't familiar with Mystery Science Theater 3000 -  user/mst3kofficial


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